Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Japan for the 15th India–Japan Annual Summit took a symbolic and strategic turn on Saturday, August 30, 2025, when Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba personally accompanied him on a Shinkansen bullet train journey from Tokyo to Sendai.

The gesture was not just an act of hospitality but also a reflection of the deepening personal and diplomatic bond between the two leaders.

Ishiba further affirmed this camaraderie by announcing his continued travel alongside PM Modi by car after reaching Sendai, underlining the importance of forging closer interpersonal ties in addition to institutional collaborations.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, Ishiba documented these moments, emphasising his solidarity with PM Modi and highlighting Japan’s commitment to the India–Japan partnership.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi met and interacted with Indian train drivers currently undergoing training with the East Japan Railway Company (JR East), a symbolic engagement that underscores India’s ongoing efforts to adopt and adapt high-speed rail technology from Japan for its own ambitious rail modernisation agenda, most notably the Mumbai–Ahmedabad bullet train project.

Ishiba, in his posts, also underscored this connection by mentioning Modi’s greetings to the Indian trainees, thereby casting the event as an example of how technology transfer and skills development stand at the heart of the bilateral relationship.

Beyond symbolic gestures, substantive discussions also took place during the summit and the journey itself. Prime Minister Ishiba announced that the two leaders discussed wide-ranging cooperation in sectors such as defence, economy, advanced manufacturing, and strategic technologies, reflecting the comprehensive nature of the bilateral relationship which has increasingly become one of the most significant partnerships for both New Delhi and Tokyo in the Indo-Pacific region.

Ishiba further revealed that the focus of the following day’s engagements would extend to inspections related to Shinkansen technology as well as Japan’s emerging semiconductor ecosystem, two critical areas where Japan sees synergy with India’s long-term economic and security priorities.

A key highlight of PM Modi’s schedule in Sendai was the planned visit to a state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing facility in Miyagi Prefecture, currently being developed by Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) in collaboration with SBI Holdings and other Japanese partners under the joint venture, Japan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (JSMC).

Located in Ohira Village within the Second Northern Sendai Central Industrial Park, this project is touted as one of Japan’s most ambitious initiatives to rejuvenate its domestic chip-making capacity, which has struggled to keep pace with global leaders over the past two decades.

The decision to locate the plant near Sendai, a hub of technological innovation and industry in northeastern Japan, reflects the government’s long-term vision of regional economic revitalisation through high-value manufacturing.

Technologically, the JSMC facility is designed to be highly competitive in terms of production capabilities. It will manufacture 12-inch semiconductor wafers, initially focusing on 40-nanometre process technology, while progressively expanding to 28 nm and 55 nm nodes to cater to diverse industrial demands.

The production emphasis will lie heavily on automotive electronics, a segment seeing explosive growth globally due to the rise of electric vehicles, autonomous driving systems, and next-generation mobility solutions. Once operational, the facility is projected to produce up to 40,000 wafers per month, a scale that would make it a significant contributor to restoring Japan’s self-reliance in semiconductors while also strengthening global supply chain resilience.

For India, the visit and joint inspection of Shinkansen and semiconductor facilities represent opportunities not only for enhanced technology transfer but also for learning from Japan’s precision engineering, manufacturing excellence, and ecosystem approach to industrial development.

With India’s concerted efforts to scale its own semiconductor industry under the "India Semiconductor Mission" and its emphasis on next-generation mobility, the complementarities with Japan’s priorities are increasingly evident.

The two leaders’ time together in both informal and formal settings thus serves to reinforce their shared vision of a free, open, secure, and technologically advanced Indo-Pacific, backed by resilient supply chains and cutting-edge innovation.

Overall, Prime Minister Modi’s journey with Prime Minister Ishiba aboard the bullet train is more than a diplomatic engagement; it is a powerful symbol of convergence between India and Japan in infrastructure development, high-speed rail technology, and advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

It highlights Japan’s willingness to treat India not merely as a partner but as a co-architect of future technological and strategic landscapes in Asia.

The convergence of defence, economic, and technological discussions during Modi’s two-day visit emphasises the increasingly strategic character of the India–Japan alliance, ensuring its pivotal role in shaping the balance of power and economic architecture of the Indo-Pacific region in the years ahead.

Based On ANI Report